Dream Lover (1993 film)
| music = Christopher Young | cinematography = Jean-Yves Escoffier | studio = PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Propaganda Films Nicita/Lloyd Productions Edward R. Pressman Productions | distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Gramercy Pictures | released = | runtime = 103 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = $256,264 }}Dream Lover is a 1993 American erotic thriller drama film written and directed by Nicholas Kazan and starring James Spader and Mädchen Amick. The original music score was composed by Christopher Young. Plot The movie opens on divorce proceedings involving Ray Reardon (Spader), a successful architect, and his first wife. Shortly after their divorce, he agrees to go to a gallery opening to meet a woman with whom his obnoxious friend, Norman (Larry Miller), sets him up. While there, he embarrasses himself by bumping into a woman (Amick), making her spill wine on herself. She wastes no time verbally abusing him. A week later, he runs into the woman, named Lena Mathers, at the supermarket. She apologizes for her behavior and the two go to dinner. They have sex the next day, marry shortly thereafter, and become parents. Despite his happiness in the marriage, Ray becomes suspicious after catching Lena in several lies about her past. Over time, Ray becomes increasingly paranoid when his wife begins sporting bruises that she will not explain and begins doing things that indicate she is having an affair. During a tense confrontation, Lena taunts Ray by claiming to have had an affair with an unnamed friend of his and refusing to tell Ray if their children are biologically his. Ray hits Lena, who then has him arrested and committed to a mental hospital for observation. Despite an attempt to prove that Lena has been lying, the judge finds Ray to be mentally incompetent and orders him held for six months. Shortly after Ray has been committed, Lena privately admits to him that his suspicions about her were correct all along and that she had planned for years to do what she did to get his money. After Ray convinces one of his friends to tell Lena that she has made a mistake in her "master plan", Lena shows up at his birthday party to talk to him. Ray lures her away from the attendants who are supposed to be supervising him and tells her that having him declared insane was the "mistake" because he could not be held legally accountable for killing her; Ray is aware that he is now genuinely mentally ill and anticipates that he would eventually to be released from the mental hospital he is sentenced in within a year after being declared sane and in good behavior. He would then also have sole custody of their children (knowing that they are truly his) from Lena in her absence. He then strangles her to death on the lawn. Cast * James Spader as Ray Reardon * Mädchen Amick as Lena Mathers Reardon * Fredric Lehne as Larry * Bess Armstrong as Elaine * Larry Miller as Norman * Kathleen York as Martha * Kate Williamson as Mrs. Sneeder * Tom Lillard as Hank Sneeder * William Shockley as Buddy * Joel McKinnon Miller as Minister * Archie Lang as Judge * Clyde Kusatsu as Judge Kurita See also *List of films featuring home invasions References External links * * * * * Category:1993 films Category:1990s thriller films Category:American independent films Category:American mystery films Category:American films Category:American erotic thriller films Category:Directorial debut films Category:English-language films Category:Erotic thriller films Category:Film scores by Christopher Young Category:Erotic drama films Category:PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films